Toys R Us LOL high prices thread

[nolanfan34]

Pretty simple idea. One of the joys of checking out Toys R Us in person is seeing the Lego prices. Post the funny ones you see in this thread. I'll start. Went to one near me to check out BOGO possibilities. Pretty much everything was marked up - even higher than a different store near me in a more affluent area. Had some good chuckles, but these two took the cake: Jabba's Palace, and The Malevolence....for.......$164.88 each!!! Amazon had Jabba for like $83 at one point today, lol. Might be hard to top that. What else have you guys seen?

[metsrock507]

harry potter set # 4867 49.99 official retail..... 84.99 at TRU

[nolanfan34]

harry potter set # 4867 49.99 official retail..... 84.99 at TRU

That is a good one. Although it might be a good price pretty quickly. :-)

[terrymc4677]

mine has the batcave for $89.99. jabba also at $149.99. outright LARCENY!!!

[Snowcrash]

Saw a Neptune Carrier on the shelves today, scanned it for lols. $79.99! But "Buy 1 get 1 50% off". I should have smashed the box to keep its DNA from poisoning the Lego gene pool. Needless to say I did not buy it. I did buy 4 Vampyre Castles and 4 Helms Deeps though. Got strange looks at the checkout.

[Darth Lego]

mine has the batcave for $89.99. jabba also at $149.99. outright LARCENY!!!

They really rip you off on Jabba's palace. That is outrageous.

[cargoyle]

What has always amazed me is how TRU posts an inflated price as "Suggested Retail" so that they can appear to have an item on sale, when in fact their "sale" price is the same price or higher than you would find at Lego LEGO Shop at Home normally. I've always thought that when an item is listed at a Suggested Retail price, that the Suggested Retail price is set by the manufacturer, in this case Lego, as a guidline or baseline for ALL their authorized vendors to use. Overall, TRU's pricing strategy appears to be deceptive and misleading, I'm surprised a consumer advocacy group hasn't called them to the carpet on their deceptive practices. Bottom line is this: Those of us who know TRU's pricing practices don't shop there unless TRU accidentally provides a genuiniely good deal on an item, and yes good deals do show up there on occaision. TRU preys on the rest of the Lego consumers, such as Mom, Dad, or the Grandparents who want to get junior the set he/she really wants. It's a free country, TRU can price items any way they wish, but they should not be able to use deceptive pricing strategies. Just my take, and just an observation in my neck of the woods, north Alabama. Happy hunting and happy collecting!! cargoyle

[Anakinisvader]

Ok, I am going to play Devils advocate here but isn't TRU doing EXACTLY what we are doing? They are just raising the price before something goes EOL. Jabbas Palace may well be $160 a few months after EOL. Just because they are a retail outlet doesn't mean they HAVE TO sell for a certain price like MSRP, does it? Are we just mad because we cant get LEGO's there cheaper so WE can hold them and make money? I asked myself these questions and realized that I don't buy from TRU because they aren't a good supplier for me (I'm a reseller). Just some food for thought.

[tigereyes5811]

Yes I understand what you are saying....it's free country and its always up to the consumer to do they're homework before they buy. We are just having fun with this thread because its so ridiculous!!! Lol We are like LEGO PRICE PREDATORS!!!! We see a good deal we jump on it...we see a great deal...we gouge it up and hoard it!!! Lol Back to the point TRU is just ridiculous to us. But to people that don't know or didn't do their homework, I just feel bad for them. I saw a Grandmother in the Lego section and she asked me about a Ninjago set, and I told her you can get it for $16 cheaper next door at Walmart. She listened, thank me, and save $16. She can use that $16 at Chuckee Cheese!!! It's a place you take your kids for pizza, play games, and go on kiddie rides if you don't know. TRU'S PRICES ARE JUST RIDONKULOUS!!!!

[redeemed763]

When something goes EOL, the fact that it is no longer being produced means that it is now a collectible, in a collectible market, the consumers demand is solely what determines its price. If the demand for set goes up substantially, consumers will start paying more, but this will only be because the set no longer is being produced. Hopefully most of us do not use any kind of tactics like this when we sell sets, I do not plan on telling people that the MSRP is higher than it really is or that a set is "on sale" and jack up the normal price just before the sale.

[nolanfan34]

Ok, I am going to play Devils advocate here but isn't TRU doing EXACTLY what we are doing? They are just raising the price before something goes EOL. Jabbas Palace may well be $160 a few months after EOL. Just because they are a retail outlet doesn't mean they HAVE TO sell for a certain price like MSRP, does it? Are we just mad because we cant get LEGO's there cheaper so WE can hold them and make money? I asked myself these questions and realized that I don't buy from TRU because they aren't a good supplier for me (I'm a reseller). Just some food for thought.

Totally fair point. But we can still laugh at the prices right? :-)

The fact they get away with it so blatantly is what I think is funny. As the quote goes...."Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public."

You are right that is pretty much what we are doing though.

[metsrock507]

The fact they get away with it so blatantly is what I think is funny. As the quote goes...."Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public."

LIKE!

[terrymc4677]

When something goes EOL, the fact that it is no longer being produced means that it is now a collectible, in a collectible market, the consumers demand is solely what determines its price. If the demand for set goes up substantially, consumers will start paying more, but this will only be because the set no longer is being produced.

exactly....this is why what we do is different than toy-r-us ripping off the general public with their inflated prices and bogus "sales". personally, when i list an item i start it at $9.99 and let the buyers determine the final price by their bidding. this is much different than jacking the price up $10-$50 more than what everyone else in town is selling an item for, and then putting it on "sale" at a price that is still higher than everyone else...lol. however, like a few of you have mentioned already, if people are unaware and are easily taken advantage of, then more power to TRU i guess. this is why it always pays to do your homework, and by all means, KEEP YOUR RECEIPTS!! i never hesitate to return an item or get a price match if i find it for less somewhere else. every dollar counts.

[wintersun]

I don't feel sorry for you, you don't live in Canada Death Star at TRU.ca 529$

[tigereyes5811]

That's not the DEATH STAR...That's the BROKE STAR!!! I feel bad for you!!! Try to move to the US. Be my neighbor. It would be nice to have a lego investor as a neighbor. Lol

[oli50]

9450 Ninjago Epic Dragon Battle $149.99. Widely available EVERYWHERE for $119.99. Buy 2 at the BOGO and get a whopping 6.25% off. It seems like the best you can do is about 18% off on the BOGO. I bought 2 beach houses. I wish I could have gotten a couple of the vampyre castles, but, as usual, all out.

[Studebricker]

It is almost laughable some of the prices they set for certain items. I would be interested to know how much Lego they actually sell at their full prices vs. how much they sell during sales. There may not be as many people "duped" as we may think. I actually don't mind TRU when you consider that Wal-mart, the supposedly low priced leader, is very stingy with Lego sales. I hardly ever end up buying any Lego from Wal-mart outside of exclusives and/or clearance stuff I find. Just a little something to think about...

[redeemed763]

I really wonder sometimes how many people really fall for their shenanigans, for most of the people in my life, they have this strange habit of looking at the prices before making a purchase, there must be large globs of the American public that do not make this a general practice. I know I was with a friend and his wife once, I was helping them cook food for a large event at their home and we were shopping at the grocery store, his wife confessed that she doesn't look at the prices of food, she just buys what she needs, doesn't even pay attention to what the total comes to at the register. Of course, they each make 6 figures so we are in different places financially but I couldn't believe that. I actually made the exact same dinner two weeks earlier for a larger crowd of my friends for less than half the price.

[Darth Lego]

I really wonder sometimes how many people really fall for their shenanigans, for most of the people in my life, they have this strange habit of looking at the prices before making a purchase, there must be large globs of the American public that do not make this a general practice. I know I was with a friend and his wife once, I was helping them cook food for a large event at their home and we were shopping at the grocery store, his wife confessed that she doesn't look at the prices of food, she just buys what she needs, doesn't even pay attention to what the total comes to at the register. Of course, they each make 6 figures so we are in different places financially but I couldn't believe that. I actually made the exact same dinner two weeks earlier for a larger crowd of my friends for less than half the price.

As your example proved, some people don't care how much extra they spend. Some have enough money that it doesn't matter one way or another.

[cobi]

I have to tell ya, I fell for TRU high prices 2 years ago when my nephew wanted a LEGO for his birthday. I didn't know much then, I thought that was the only place you could buy LEGO (he told me that). The times have changed for me, bargain, bargain, bagain that's what I look for now, and put the sets back for that special occasion. Maybe some parents just think that is the normal price since their little ones must have one they sees at TRU. I DO NOT BUY FROM TRU AT ALL!!

[Jackson]

Does a rich mom even care or care to know that TRU charges $30 more for a certain set? $30 is nothing to her.

[cobi]

good point

[TheOrcKing]

It is almost laughable some of the prices they set for certain items. I would be interested to know how much Lego they actually sell at their full prices vs. how much they sell during sales. There may not be as many people "duped" as we may think. I actually don't mind TRU when you consider that Wal-mart, the supposedly low priced leader, is very stingy with Lego sales. I hardly ever end up buying any Lego from Wal-mart outside of exclusives and/or clearance stuff I find. Just a little something to think about...

Ripoffs-R-Us' prices and methods are insanely laughable, though like you I am curious of their different sales figures. Oddly enough, I don't really buy that much from Wal-Mart anymore. Most of my purchases, which includes everything besides LEGO, have been done at Target. They've just been better and easier to deal with. Absolutely no problems with pricematching at Target, while on the other hand, you have to fight tooth & nail to do the same at Wal-Mart anymore.

[mushedroom]

hey everyone, i'm not sure if you guys all know this but TRU started price matching 6 months ago on an unspoken note. they have just now begun their advertising to reflect this option. i took full advantage of this past BOGO with TRU... and i used Walmart, target & kmart as pricing references and the customer service manager was ever so kind enough to even search them on her computer. got some REALLY AWESOME DEALS and... there were items that i purchased weeks ago... she has been price adjusting all of my receipts and i've been getting money back ;-) TRU may not be that bad after all. (ie: during the BOGO sale they reduced the 2012 Advent calendar from 39.99 to 23.99 (same price as lego.com)

[pickleboy]

hey everyone,

i'm not sure if you guys all know this but

TRU started price matching 6 months ago on an unspoken note.

they have just now begun their advertising to reflect this option.

i took full advantage of this past BOGO with TRU...

and i used Walmart, target & kmart as pricing references and the customer service manager was ever so kind enough to even search them on her computer.

got some REALLY AWESOME DEALS

and...

there were items that i purchased weeks ago...

she has been price adjusting all of my receipts and i've been getting money back ;-)

TRU may not be that bad after all.

(ie: during the BOGO sale they reduced the 2012 Advent calendar from 39.99 to 23.99 (same price as lego.com)

That's awesome. They wouldn't let me do that at my TRU. I hope mine is the exception, not the rule